It is conventional to form a tamper-indicating closure having a band connected to the skirt of the closure by integral frangible bridges. The band has a stop element (e.g., a flange or bead) that engages a bead on the container to resist unthreading of the closure, so that removal of the closure ruptures the frangible bridges that connect the band to the closure skirt. U.S. Pat. Nos. Re. 33,265, 4,322,009 and 4,432,461, assigned to the assignee hereof, disclose tamper-indicating closures of this character, in which the tamper-indicating band is completely severed from the closure skirt and remains with the container upon removal of the closure from the container. U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,600, also assigned to the assignee hereof, discloses a tamper-indicating closure in which the tamper-indicating band remains connected to the closure skirt and is removed from the container with the closure.
Although tamper-indicating closures of the types disclosed in the noted patents have enjoyed substantial commercial acceptance and success in the art, further improvements remain desirable. In particular, it is desirable in many applications to provide facility for flushing the region between the tamper-indicating band and the container finish so as to prevent accumulation of liquid after a filling operation. For example, problems are encountered when employing this type of closure in so-called wet finish applications, in which liquid may spill during or after the filling operation onto the outside surface of the container finish so as to be disposed between the container finish and the closure skirt after capping. Wet finish situations of this type are encountered during hot-fill, cold-fill and aseptic-fill situations, in which the containers are filled close to the brim or to overflow prior to capping. Wet finish situations can also be encountered during filling operations in which liquid may drip from the filling machinery onto the container finish. In wet-finish situations of this type, problems are encountered in connection with draining and drying of the area between the outer surface of the container finish and the closure skirt--i.e., between the threads on the container finish and skirt, and around the tamper-indicating band and the stop element. Liquid trapped within this area can result in growth of mold and mildew.
It is a general object of the present invention to provide a closure and a method of manufacturing a closure that facilitate flushing of the area between the tamper-indicating band and the container finish during an otherwise conventional washing operation after the closure is applied to the container finish. A further object of the present invention is to provide a closure and method of manufacture that facilitate both drainage of liquid products after capping and improved air flow between the closure and container finish for drying after capping. Another and related object of the present invention is to provide a closure and method of manufacture that achieve the foregoing objectives while retaining the advantages of the closures disclosed in the above-noted patents in terms of ease of application to the container finish after filling (lower top load and lower temperature) and whole or partial rupture of the tamper-indicating band from the closure skirt to provide the tamper-indicating feature. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a package, which includes a closure and a container, that is particularly well adapted for use in conjunction with wet finish applications as described.